


Fidget Spinner

by RykRae



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Slow Burn, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-04 07:05:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10985886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RykRae/pseuds/RykRae
Summary: THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A FUNNY ONE SHOT? LOL WHAT HAPPENED? (no other name for this atm because I didn't know this would happen)Kageyama Tobio just wanted to play volleyball and live a simple life.Though, simple is far from close for a simple minded king who can't find what's been infront of him his entire life.What's for two soulmates who love other people?What's for two soulmates who have always hated each other?What's for two soulmates who finally offer the chance to find one another?-Soulmate AU where soulmates possess traits the other has when you make contact with them.-Slow burn. Everyone is so bad at life in this fic-Lot's of references... If you get them please comment below, I need to know who the real OG's are





	1. Ritsu

The first time Kageyama had his heart broken was his first year of middle school. 

He had just gotten his first skill, being able to do a handstand for five minutes. 

At first, he supposed that it was just a coincidence, that perhaps he was athletically inclined enough to be able to do such a thing.

Though, it was a long shot.

It was around this age that the possibility of meeting your soulmate grew. Granted, it wasn't exactly common for middle school students to be in love and happily with their soulmates, but it was just a fact that the higher the population, the higher the chance of running into that special someone. 

He had told Kunimi that day.

"Maybe you've met them, Kageyama." He had said.

Kageyama wanted to believe him, he really did, but he just couldn't.

He was too young, wasn't he? Too inexperienced, he hadn't even had his first crush yet. 

You only gained your soulmate's skills when you finally met them. Some kind of contact had to be initiated for the two to begin sharing skills, so it wasn't possible that he'd meet that someone already, right?

Ironically, his first crush, if you could call it that, ended up happening the same week. 

Two days before Kageyama found out that he could handstand for five minutes, there had been a new student added to his class, a boy named Ritsu.

The boy was gorgeous, kind, and smart; perfect in Kageyama's eyes. Of course, he didn't take much interest in this boy other than acknowledging the fact.

It actually wasn't until later in the week when the boy flaunted that he could handstand for five minutes in their homeroom class that Kageyama had a crush in development.

From that day forwards, Kageyama spent everyday carefully watching the boy, trying to see if he could replicate anymore of his traits.

Sadly, he couldn't flip pens like the boy could, he couldn't write poetry as well as the boy could, and he actually ended up being able to do more push ups than the boy.

This was okay though, in Kageyama's eyes.

Not _all_  traits were shared anyways, just some.

Plus he could do the handstand, so that's what mattered.

Two weeks had gone by since he'd been keeping tabs on the boy, and Kageyama decided it was time to confess, time to see if they were really soulmates and time to tell him that he had a crush on him. 

Above that, most people that dated weren't soulmates, so it wouldn't be a problem if they weren't, right?

He had decided that he'd do the average and most cheesiest form of confronting his crush; he'd make him a bento and ask him to eat  lunch with him.

Kageyama woke up extra early that morning to make a second lunch.

He was so proud of it that he told himself it was one of the best things he's ever created. It was filled with little anime inspired rice balls, cute cut outs of vegetables and fruits, and filled to the brim with all kinds of assorted goods any kid would want in their lunch.

It looked so good, that before Kageyama's classes, his former Senpai at the time tried to take it from him.

"What's that Tobio-Chan, is that for me?" His captain had mocked.

"No! It's for a friend!"

"Friend, huh? That's a lot of work just for a _friend_!"

Kageyama was glad that he had left it at that because the embarrassment that was to follow he's never been able to swallow down. 

"Ritsu-San!" Kageyama had called that day.

Immediately, he had offered the bento lunch to his crush and asked if they could eat together outside. 

Luckily for Kageyama, the boy was awfully nice. He followed Kageyama outside to the benches and he had complimented the lunch entirely, he had even ate it all and had held good conversation with Kageyama until the confession.

"Ritsu-San?"

"Yes, Kageyama-Kun?"

Kageyama blushed so very hard before responding. 

"I, um... Ritsu san, I just want to say that... I really like you."

The last part had come out rushed, but Ritsu seemed completely composed at this.

"I like you too, Kageyama."

"Y-you do?"

"Yes, you're really fun to be around and you're nice."

Kageyama flinched a bit at the slight friend zoning, but he continued despite the flush that kept escalating on his cheeks.

"No, Ritsu-San, I _like_ you." Kageyama pressed. 

"Oh."

When the boy's face dropped, Kageyama felt his existence shatter completely.

"Kageyama-Kun, I like you too, but... Did nobody tell you?" 

Kageyama shook his head no slowly while keeping eye contact with the boy.

"Minami-Chan and I are soulmates."

_Oh_. 

So it was the cute little blonde with a red stripe in his hair that Kageyama's crush was destined to be with. The one that sat in the back corner of their homeroom with his face always stuffed into an ice skating magazine that he'd found in the give away booth at the library.

"Oh." 

"I'm sorry Kageyama-Kun. You're a really nice person- just wait, you'll meet your soulmate soon, I know it!"

Luckily, the rest of the day had been okay. Kageyama felt a little hurt, but Ritsu was extremely kind by escorting them back to class and still talking to him for the rest of their middle school career. 


	2. Yuuki

The second time Kageyama had his heart hurt was the summer transition into high school. 

He had grown quite well in the years in between his last romance till then.  
He was taller, filled out more, and finally gained a chiseled jaw. Lots of students liked him, but he always kept modest and even acted oblivious to keep the teasing down. As a product that, he was known as the "simple minded king", an ironic nickname gifted to him by his former captain.

Sadly, most of the time, people only wanted to befriend him because of the title he had managed to gain. 

Of course, students other than the ones on his team did not understand it's true meaning, so all the while he was called "king of the court", most people assumed it was due to his skill on the court. 

That though, is something Kageyama knew he had managed on his own. 

Ever since he was extremely young, during the time he knew he hadn't met his soulmate, he was able to set a ball better than some high school kids. 

He was a _god_ at setting.  
He was fast and accurate; everything you need in a setter.

(Well... almost everything.)

As a product of his popularity from the sport, he had luck this particular summer with a particular person he'd managed to come by.

It all started the day the summer had began, when Kageyama had the same song stuck in his head.

If he were to be honest, he didn't really mind.  
It was beautiful.  
He actually loved it so much that he was able to pick it apart cleanly.

The song was in the e flat major key, and to Kageyama, it fit the passionate and inspiring mood of it so well.  
The part he sang most often, usually while taking his jogs or writing, was the sixtuplet run that hit each flat in the key signature.  
His favourite part was the calm "bridge" when it thinned out.  
Even though Kageyama never actually heard this song before, never played piano, and hadn't ever taken a music class, he loved it.

Perhaps it was luck, perhaps not, but the day he took a walk through the streets of his town during that summer between middle school and high school, he froze in shock and somewhat joy when he heard the notes of that song play in real life. 

Through the window of a music store, he saw her; Yuuki, the quiet blonde with thick framed glasses he'd only spoke to once during his entire three years of middle school. 

Kageyama was utterly drawn by the music and it hardly felt like his legs were moving as they took him to the store window.

God, he knew the song was good, but he didn't realize how good it actually was.

Kageyama watched her fingers fly over the keys and his heart ached at the sight.

How happy he had been watching and listening to her play.  
He wanted to talk to her so badly too, but he just couldn't pull himself away from the trance he was in while he watched her.

That day had been extremely good.

He introduced himself and was very lucky in the fact that she _already_ knew of him from his volleyball plays and _already_ liked him.

They dated.

It came smooth and easy, it lasted for majority of the summer, and Kageyama loved every bit of it.

He loved waiting for her after her job at the music store, he loved buying her lunch so they could eat together, he loved the way she would run little circles into the back of his hand when they would walk together, he loved her cute glasses that fit her chubby cheeks so well, and he loved her.

Sadly, a few months in they came to the conclusion that they weren't soulmates. They tried, they _really_ did, but the only connection they had skill wise was that single piano piece, and above that, they had totally different styles of playing.

It didn't matter though.  
Kageyama liked her so very much and she liked him, so they decided to stay together.

It was the night he had planned to tell her that he loved her that she broke up with him.

He took her to his favourite spot in their local park, had set up a little cozy blanket to watch the stars on, and she broke up with him.  
She met _her_ soulmate just the day before, a boy named Eric, an exchange student from the states.

Of course... Kageyama let her go.  
He loved her, so much that he let her go with who she needed to be with.  
Who was he to control fate? Who was he to stop who she loved?

He didn't hate her, but it hurt.

Ever since that day, Kageyama didn't offer to believe in fate or destiny.  
He'd never been a religious person, but it collapsed even more that day.  
How was there a God when people weren't even to choose their own loves? And if people had such a partner, why were there those who never met them? Why did others partners die before they could meet? Why hadn't he met his?

It was honestly all too much for Kageyama, so since that day he decided to let go of trying to find his partner.  
Perhaps somewhere in the world they were with somebody that made them as happy as Yuuki made him.  
He'd _never_ want to take that away from someone, that happiness.


	3. Skill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lol

"We'll be going against Aoba Johsai, and we all need to figure out strengths. The time to strategize starts now."  
Their captain, Daichi, had said.

It was during their jumping contest that Kageyama realized he gained a new skill.  
It was his turn to run up to the basketball court and try to touch the highest.  
When he jumped, he was a good solid feet off the ground, he could hear all his teammates gasp and wow at the sight, and when his hand reached up, he passed by everyone else's fingerprints by inches.

"Woah, Kageyama when did you get so good at jumping!?" Suga had cried that day. "You jump as high as Hinata!"

"Just right now." Kageyama responded with no emotion. This new soul skill didn't appeal to him in the fact that it dealt with his supposed partner. He honestly didn't know how to feel anymore, it's not like he was looking for his soulmate.

"Is it a soul skill?" Hinata asked. Kageyama flinched at the hope in his eyes, he knew that the boy wanted to share this skill, it was hardly a secret that the orange haired kid had a crush on him.

"I, um... I think so." Kageyama said.

"Woaaa! Maybe you finally met your soulmate Kageyama!" Hinata said, walking towards him with hope.

Kageyama bit his lip gently before responding.

"I have."

Everyone in the gym went silent at that.

"You know who your soulmate is?" Suga asked.

"I don't." Kageyama admitted. "But I know that I've met them in some way. I've known since my first year of middle school."

The glimmer in Hinata eyes faltered and fell slowly causing Kageyama to feel for him. It's not that he didn't like Hinata, he was a good friend, but Kageyama just felt like he didn't have the energy to love anyone anymore, not after Yuuki.

"That's a shame- that you haven't been able to find out who your soulmate is. When I met Daichi, I just kind of knew you know?" Suga smiled, tilting his head to the side.

The captain at the call to his name made his way over to the setters and put his arm around Suga.  
They looked good together, Daichi and Suga. They worked well together too.  
When Kageyama first joined the volleyball club, he was jealous at first, jealous of their relationship, jealous because he had a small crush on Suga a few weeks back... but it was okay.  
He had good captains that appreciated and took care of the team.  
Maybe this is the beauty of having soulmates, maybe this team is the product of it.

It was stressful, the years before finding your partner.  
Only a few had found their soulmates so far: The captains, Tanaka and his finally found girlfriend, and Tsukki and Yamaguchi.

Breaking the silence, the blonde and freckled faced brunette walked in as if summoned by Kageyamas thoughts.

Out of all the things in the world, out of everything Tsukkishima could possibly think of to annoy him, he walked in with a fucking fidget spinner.

"Hello there, King." Tsukki said, spinning the gadget between his middle finger and thumb.

"What the hell is that?" Kageyama responded, ignoring the tease.

"It's my new fidget spinner! It's cool isn't it?" The blonde boasted, his glasses flashing with the tilt of his head.

"Super cool, Tsukki!" Yamaguchi said.

Kageyama wanted to laugh at and hug that boy at the same time. He was one hell of a guy for loving Tsukkishima, but he was also such a derp too.

"Care to try?" Tsukki offered. "I'm sure that you couldn't even compare to my skill, even with that genius brain of yours."

That pulled at Kageyama a bit, but he composed himself.

"No thanks. I'd rather not touch anything that you've contaminated." He simply responded.

"Oh? Are you nervous you won't be able to be better than me? Hm, it doesn't really make sense since you always seem so ready to set the volleyball I always block."

That got him.

Kageyama quickly snatched the spinning item out of the other's hand.

"Okay, so how do I?" Kageyama had started, but all of a sudden the thing was spinning naturally in his hand as if he'd done it hundreds of times before.

Kageyama stared down at it oddly for a second, but before anyone could open their mouths he was already transferring it from finger to finger by balancing the toy on top of them.

"What the hell?!" Tsukki yelled angrily.

Kageyama couldn't blame him, he didn't even know what he was doing but he was managing tricks with the fidget spinner he didn't think was possible.

"Why did you act like you've never touched a fidget spinner before!?" Tsukki continued yelling, obviously mad he couldn't show Kageyama up with this ridiculous trend.

"Because I never have." Kageyama responded, tossing the thing a few feet in the air and catching it with his pinky.

After understanding what was going on, the rest started laughing at the skill.

"Your soulmate is a fucking meme!" Tanaka laughed from afar.

"My theory is that your soulmate is a nerdy basketball player that enjoys the trends." Daichi stated.

"Basketball playing explains the jumping height and I suppose the piano playing explains intelligence... But who the hell has enough time to learn how to do that though?" Suga asked, pointing to Kageyama.

The entire team looked over to the younger setter again who was currently spinning the little contraption on the tip of his shoe while doing a handstand.

"Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me, that king over here is doing soul skills?" Tsukki asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Suga answered.

"What else can your soulmate do?" Yamaguchi asked in awe.

After getting back into standing position Kageyama gave the toy back to Tsukki and placed a hand on his chin.

"Hmm... Well for starters, they can hand stand for a while. They play piano extremely well. The other day I found myself reciting Shakespeare without any prior knowledge. I jump high apparently and thankfully during my English exam yesterday I was suddenly fluent."

"Your soulmate sounds like such a nerd." Noya laughed.  
It wasn't being rude, but more of a tease, so everyone chuckled at that.

"Yeah, I guess." Kageyama said softly.

He really wondered what his soulmate was like. Surely, he would have been able to _feel_ them when he met them, right?

Well... it was too late now. Maybe it was better this way. If they didn't actually know each other, then maybe it just wasn't meant to be.


	4. Inspiration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the lead up to some action that hopefully will occur the next chapter. I'm just kind of winging this, seeing where it goes, lol.

Kageyama felt like dying.

It was the last set, his body felt like collapsing and had already been feeling this way when he caught one of Oikawa's serves in the second set.

It had been a deathly match thus far, each team fighting hard, the heavy breaths of pure will filling the gym as well as squeaking of shoes and the cheering of the audience.

"Iwa-Chan, go right!" Oikawa called.

God. Why did Oikawa have to be so _good_?

Kageyama had seen enough of his former captain's  plays, had seen enough of the countless hours of practice, the too many diving drills, the amount of serves that would rip the arm off of any _normal_ person, but yet, he still couldn't help but be in utter awe of his former senpai.

The ball Iwaizumi spiked was blocked luckily by Tsukkishima, and suddenly it was theirs, the swirling of white, red, and green headed his direction perfectly.

Kageyama raised his arms simply, felt the bend of his elbows angle in perfection and felt his body ready to set the ball, to send it whizzing past half of the court straight to Tanaka, to him because everyone was watching Shoyo, to Tanaka because Tsukki was already playing bait, to Tanaka because nobody was watching him.

He was ready to set the ball his direction to finally catch up in this damn set, but surprisingly, the ball never touched his hands.  
There was a soft thump, hardly noticeable above the circus like noises that filled the air, but sheer panic took his place instead of relief when he realised that the ball passed by his body and hit the floor to where nobody stood.

Kageyama stared at the spot the ball hit trying to process the situation, but there was a whistle that blew and all of a sudden he was rushed into a time out meeting.

"Kageyama."

It was Daichi who spoke, their coach and sensei decided that the captain's words would be more valuable than theirs at that moment.

Kageyama grunted in response, his nerves still edged from the previous mistake he just made.

"Don't let him get to you."

Confusion is what hit Kageyama first, his brows wrinkled and he didn't understand what his captain meant until Suga spoke up.

"Oikawa-San, Kageyama, he means him." the silver haired boy chimed in.

"Oikawa-San? What do you-"

"We mean that we all know you're sort of his protege, we all know that this is a big deal- even if you don't think it is, it obviously is. Just don't let him get to you. You're an amazing setter yourself, Tobio." Suga quickly finished.

Kageyama wondered if that was what was bothering him. Was he nervous? Did he want to impress the older setter? All Kageyama really knew was that every time he looked at Oikawa, every time they were near one another, there was this _feeling_. Good or bad, Kageyama had no clue, what he definitely _did_ know was that he came here to win, not to be pestered by pretty setters.

Plus, Oikawa never liked him anyways, for as long as Kageyama could remember the brunette had always been a jerk to him. Kageyama never understood the hatred though.  
He knew he was good at a lot of things, one being that he was naturally talented at setting, but he's always _lost_ to Oikawa anyways, he's always been _below_ him, so why did the brunette boy care so much? Why did he hate him so much?

"I guess it's frustrating because he's better than me." Kageyama admitted, cheeks warmed from the honesty.

"The King had emotions!" Tsukki cried, a face of false surprise and awe drawn across him.

"Quiet, Tsukkishima." Daichi called.

"Of course he's better than you." Hinata said.

"Why you little-" Kageyama had started, his hand swinging up to grasp the kid's orange hair to perhaps wack him down to the floor.

"But that's only because he's had more years than you!" Hinata quickly continued.

"That's true, Kageyama." Suga added.

"Yeah!? How is the king going to be better than the _great_ king?" Hinata continued.  
"It's not your fault he's better than you, it'd only be your fault if you didn't acknowledge it and try to get better!"

Kageyama stared down at the orange haired boy for a bit biting his lip.  
Finally, a soft sight left his mouth and he put a hand to the shorter one's shoulder.

"You're right." Kageyama said.

It was gruff and it was slightly embarrassed, but he knew he owed the justification to the other because that was something nobody had ever stated out loud before.  
Sadly, even though he didn't want to give Oikawa any more credit than he deserved, he's always been his inspiration, whether the older setter was kind to him or not.

When Hinata's face turned around the same shade as his hair, Kageyama decided it was time to head back and signalled to his coach he was doing better.

"I'm ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realise that it's possible to not understand how Oikawa is his inspiration here...  
> Even though Kageyama dislikes Oikawa, the fact that he's not as good as him inspires him to improve.  
> So yeah :D


	5. Serve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ohoho?

"Lets go!" Oikawa called.

The rest of the team sprinted off, yelling slight cheers with their heads high.

"Damn." Tsukkishima swore. He wiped the sweat off his upper lip before carrying on onto the court after their timeout.

Ukai had been merciless after Kageyama composed himself, telling each member bluntly what needed to be done. Though, even that it had been harsh, it was needed.

Aoba Johsai was completely vicious, Karasuno had used up all their timeouts now and the kingdom school was still ahead.

"Tobio."

It was Suga that jogged up to him, face all smile but eyes worried.

"Don't stress about your serve, you might not be Oikawa, but we all know you can serve quite well."

Kageyama nodded in response before running back court.

That was right.  
It was his turn to serve.

With the ball in his hands, things almost felt slow motion. Everything felt well; the ball, the court, the cheering of his team.

There was only one thing truly eating at Kageyama that made the hairs on the back of his neck prick up.

Oikawa Tooru was sending a deathly glare across the court right into him, the burning gaze making Kageyama's hands tremble ever so slightly.

At the sound of the whistle did he finally manage to take a breath.

Kageyama ran up to the court, feeling his knees bend under each step.

On the third step though, there was a mix of feelings that struck him odd.

He jumped per usual, his body gaining air naturally, but his hand tilted just slightly different and there was a feeling in his shoulder that pulled at something in his lower back.

When his palm his the ball, there was an absolute feeling of force behind the hit that was completely unusual from his normal serve and suddenly a head of fluffy swirling curls was in view.

One moment the ball was touching his palm and the next second it was launched at full speed towards the brunette setter across the net.

Kageyama could practically feel the entire court turn silent at the serve, it was so quiet in fact that the giant slap of the ball against his former captain's chest sounded much louder than it most likely was.

Oikawa tumbled backwards, the force knocking him to the ground and sending the ball sideways.

The crowd gasped at the sight at Oikawa down.

"Tooru!"

It was Iwaizumi who screamed. He shoved fellow teammates out of the way and lifted Oikawa's upper half off the floor.

The boy seemed dazed for a solid minute or two, but when the medical team that stood by offered assistance he brushed them off and stood wearily.

After a few breaths and a bit of awkward stumbling, he managed to stand upright and brush himself off.

"It's okay!" He started, lifting a hand formed into the ok sign.

"I just got the wind knocked out of me, Tobio-Chan has quite a arm on him." Oikawa said.

At the use of his name Kageyama suddenly felt all the eyes in the gym land on him once again.

Iwaizumi glared dangerously at him, enough that Kageyama wouldn't be surprised if the net in between them melted.

It wasn't astonishing that the ace would be so upset, the two were soulmates anyways.

  
Iwaizumi and Oikawa were a match made in heaven. Kageyama was sure that when God created the pair, he wanted a match that could destroy and rebuild entire nations.

It was sad though in the fact that Kageyama never befriended either of them.

well... he considered Iwaizumi a good senpai in middle school. He taught him much and offered lots of assistance in training. The only reason they never got along more was because Oikawa being Iwaizumi's best friend and supposedly now soulmate hated his guts.

 

After a forced timeout advised by the standby medical team, the game came back into focus. It was time for Kageyama to serve again and everyone was on edge.

_I don't know what the hell is happening, but I'll use it to our advantage._

Tobio had a feeling that this serve was a soul skill.

During the break he didn't think too much of it, mostly because he'd been working on his own serve the last few weeks, but this felt like all the other skills he'd gained without effort, it wasn't completely _natural_.

Again the whistle blew and Kageyama made his way up the court.

One step.  
Two steps.  
Three steps.

He jumped again, but this time gracefully, letting this unknown power lift him up and send his arm elegantly yet powerfully slam into the ball.

Another gasp from the audience sounded as the ball whizzed towards the Aoba Johsai team, and the ball head yet again to the swooping haired brunette across the net.

Oikawa seemed deathly calm this serve though, his movements as graceful as Kageyama felt moments ago.

He managed to get the ball up, a loud slam leaving his forearms red and raw, but it was up.

"Watch their Libero, Oikawa touched it first!" Daichi screamed.

Right on cue their libero in all blue set the ball straight to Iwaizumi.  
In a matter of seconds the ball was slammed past their blockers and the point was to Aoba Johsai.

A scream of success was called out by the opposing and a chant of 'Rule The Court!' was given by their crowd.

"It's okay! One more time, lets take this set back into our rhythm!" Daichi called.

After a nod from the team, they turned their attention to their opponents serve.

Oikawa stood motionless at the back of the court, his eyes glazed over with some sort of animal look, yet... He was deathly focused on one thing in particular.

He raised an arm, one finger lifted off the ball and pointed past all the members in orange and black except for one person.

The raven haired setter who tested his strength. 


	6. An eye for an eye

Oikawa threw the ball up high and went after it as smoothly as he had tossed it.

One step.  
Two steps.  
Three steps.

On the third, Oikawa leapt beautifully and attacked the ball so ferociously that Kageyama barely had time to process how fast it was coming at him.

Unluckyily for Kageyama, it seemed that Oikawa had a better viewpoint for aim because instead of the ball hitting the floor, zooming past him, or even hitting his god damn chest as it had Oikawa, the ball collided with his _face_.

 

"Jesus?" Kageyama called out in a raspy tone.

There was an abundance of laughter before the stars infront of Kageyama's eyes finally faded, and when things came into focus he saw his team surrounding him along with an embarrassed Asahi a few feet away.

"Wha- How did I get here?" Kageyama asked.

He was lying on the bench, the medics nearby giving glances.  
When he sat up his head throbbed painfully and he noticed a tissue was lodged up his nose.

"Oikawa knocked you out with his serve. Asahi carried you to the bench to rest." Daichi stated.

"I have to get back to the game."

Kageyama stood up quickly and all the blood rushed to his head. When he tried to take a step forwards he crumpled onto the floor.

The medics rushed over quickly and pulled him up onto the bench, one of them grabbing a first aid kit.

"We're going to have to check for-" one of them started, but before they could finish Kageyama threw himself onto the trash can at the end of the bench and hurled.

The force of his caused tears to form in the corners of his eyes and when he finished he saw his coach, his nose wrinkled in distaste.

"Will he be okay?" Ukai asked.

"Well, since he vomited we can conclude that he has a concussion." One of the medics stated.

"He won't be able to participate for the rest of the game. If you guys have practice the rest of the week I wouldn't let him do too much." The other added.

"What!? No, I have to play!" Kageyama cried.

He tried to pull himself off of the bench again, but as before he fell to his knees, stars dancing in front of his eyes.

"Kageyama!" Ukai barked.

"This is for your safety." His Sensai offered, the man helping him sit again.

"The more you work yourself up, the lower the chance of matches you get to play in the future. Just rest now." Daichi commanded.

He was right. If he tried to play now, Kageyama knew he might hurt the chance to get better.

Yet, even though he knew that, he wanted to play.  
He _really, really_ wanted to be on the court for this. It was the last set for crying out loud!

Kageyama gazed out onto the empty court, scanned through the audience, and eventually let his eyes fall into the worried ones of his teammates.

Was it worth it? Hurting himself now?

"Okay..."

It was silent, but it was an agreement. Even though he didn't want to, Kageyama obliged. He _had_ to play again soon, sadly, this just meant he couldn't play now.

 

There was another forced timeout, this time Kageyama found out that there was almost a penalty called on Aoba Johsai. Apparently Oikawa's serve had been 'foul play', but their coach said that wasn't a fair call due to the fact that Kageyama had just the serve before injured their setter too. It was a long time out, each school near to tearing out the others throats, but in the end of the quarrels everything was settled evenly with no punishments.

Kageyama felt terrible.  
He knew their team was going to be okay, Suga had taken his place and everyone seemed to be doing fine... but it just sucked that he wasn't able to be there for them.

If only he was _good_ enough.

If only he could be _better_ than Oikawa in something...

"Why the long face?"

Ennoshita sat next to Kageyama, his face melded into a tender expression.

"I... I just want to be able to fight." Kageyama said sadly. "I want to fight with them! Not let them down!"

"Woah there, hold your horses, Kageyama." His friend stilled.

"You seemed pretty damn dependable out there on the court a few moments ago. How did you even learn how to serve like that? You were going hard just like Oikawa does." Ennoshita said in awe.

"I used to watch Oikawa-San serve all the time in middle school." He responded with a sigh.  
"I guess it just rubbed off on me." Kageyama finished stiffly.

He hated the fact that even his serve wasn't original. How was he supposed to be better than Oikawa if he served _just like him?_

"Were you two friends, or?" The upperclassmen started, but Kageyama flushed instantly and shook his head violently.

"No, no! Honestly... I didn't have any friends in middle school. The only person who was close to being nice to me was Iwaizumi-San, but even then..." Kageyama trailed off.

"Oh, that's right. Iwaizumi and Oikawa are soulmates aren't they?" Ennoshita began.  
"I saw them announce it online." He said.

"Yeah."

Kageyama brought his eyes to the duo on the other side of the court.  
They were _still_ running smoothly even though Suga's style was throwing them off a bit.  
They were able to work through _anything_ , it just wasn't fair.

For once, ever since Kageyama broke up with Yuuki... he wished for his soulmate.

He wanted to see them so _bad_.

Kageyama wanted someone _he_ could be beautiful with, he wanted his someone who the universe created for him.

Why did it have to be like this? Why did he have these stupid skills, but no soulmate to make up for it?

His soulmates skill just saved his team earlier in this match, but could his soulmate save him?

 


	7. Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: Hey, so this was only gonna be like ten chapters max after deciding it wasn't going to be a one shot... But last night I accidentally wrote a layout for the next twelve chapters or so... So yeah, from this chapter on, the rest of the chapters are most likely going to be longer and more planned out.  
> I was debating on whether or not to make this a series, but fuck it, lets continue on here. Thank you guys for reading and I hope you're as excited as I am for the future chapters!

The positions of the court was in Karasuno's favor at the moment. 

Oikawa was near the back, away from most the action and so was his ace. In the front closest to the net were their members on the shorter side. The most valuable for now was Yahaba, but it was hard living up to the setting expectations of his captain.

"A team with three setters? That's just unfair." Ennoshita chuckled.

Kageyama jumped a little at the voice, he had totally forgotten about the ebony haired male.

"What do you mean? We have two." Kageyama stated.

"True." Ennoshita admitted. "I guess it's  _almost_  fair in the aspect that we have one _genius_ setter, who's currently injured..." the upperclassmen began, waving an arm at him. "-and another great one, while the other team has one  _supreme_  setter and two average ones." 

Kageyama thought about that for a second, his mind tracing through ‘genius.’

"You think I'm a genius?" He asked a bit breathless. 

"Wha- Kageyama, you have a  _pinpoint_ _accuracy_  skill- like how is that even possible!? Plus, you can like memorize anything and all of a sudden serve like the (and he said this in a deep announcer voice)  _best student volleyball player in Japan_."

Kageyama couldn't help but laugh at that, his tension from being out of the game fading from his body ever so slightly.

"I guess I never thought about it too hard before." He said, his grin dying down into a small smile.

At the sight of Kageyama smiling, Ennoshita seemed to have lost his train of thought for a bit. That happened quite often to be honest, Kageyama realized that after he had gotten used to laughing and smiling around his team more, everyone loved to watch him. It honestly made him feel warm inside, he loved to silently bask in the kind validation.

"Yeah well... You're amazing, Kageyama." Ennoshita said. 

It was a bit silent after that, both males seemed to have gotten lost while watching the match. It was so close now, Karasuno had caught up and now both teams were close to winning. 

"Can I ask a question?" Ennoshita said, eyes still glued on the upcoming server.

"What's up?" Kageyama answered, his own eyes following after Ennoshita’s, straight onto Oikawa.

"Can you teach me how to serve? Or at least serve better? I really want to step up that aspect of my skill set- especially with everyone trying to vote me for next years captain. I want to improve."

Kageyama pulled his eyes away from the ace server to meet Ennoshita's. He felt a little nervous inside, felt bad for the response he had to hand over.

"I actually think it's a soul skill." He admitted. "At first I thought I was just getting better but... I don't know. It feel different you know? It feels like it's not completely mine."

"Oh." Was all Ennoshita said, his mouth downturned just slightly. 

"Yeah, I'm sorry." 

"No, no, it's fine!" The ebony haired male began. "If you don't mind me asking, do you have any idea who your soulmate might be after this?" 

The question startled Kageyama.

How was he supposed to know? It's not like you can just meet anyone with this type of skill.

Most likely recognizing the confusion on Kageyama's face, Ennoshita continued. 

"I doubt that there's more than a handful of volleyball players in Japan who can serve like that, can you think up anyone famous who can do it?" 

Oh.

That was a good idea.

The biggest flaw with that though was that Kageyama wasn't much of a sports gossip junky as most athletes were. He played to play; he didn't really know anyone in the maybe 5 Japanese sports and / or volleyball magazines he'd gotten as presents. 

"I have... no idea." Kageyama said sadly, his mood turning down again.

The ebony haired male scooted closer to Kageyama and put his arm around him, patting his back. 

It wasn't romantic or anything, but it felt nice to be comforted. Kageyama never really had true friends that cared about him. Sure, Kunimi and Kindaichi he talked to, but they were also responsible to kicking him off the court back then.

He was glad he had this now, glad he had a team that loved him rather than a captain who tried to hit him and a team that wanted him off.

"You could always ask Oikawa." Ennoshita said. 

Kageyama visibly reeled back from that. 

"What?” He almost spat. 

"You know, he's like the top volleyball player, yada, yada, yada, why don't you ask him since he has connections?" his friend pressed.

“I, wha-“

“Woah, woah, you don’t have to ask him if you don’t want to. I just thought it was a good idea.” Ennoshita chuckled.

“I mean…”

Was it a good idea? For his entire life, Oikawa has _always_ disliked Tobio. Would asking him even be worth it? Would Oikawa even offer to help him?

“I wouldn’t mind, but I doubt he would help.” Kageyama said.

“Why not? It shouldn’t matter if you guys are quote, rivals or anything. This is your _soulmate_ for crying out loud, why would he not help?”

The thought processed through Kageyama for a bit. That was true, in this world, finding your soulmate was a big deal.

“I just-“ but before Kageyama could finish his sentence the sharp squeal of a whistle pulled Ennoshita and him away from their discussion.

“What?!” his friend cried. “Is that it? Is that game?”

“Oh no.” Kageyama found himself saying.

The Karasuno team slowly made their way back to the benches, their heads held low.

_No, no, no , no, no._

Kageyama stood up and followed his team to the location their coach and sensai stood, his hands trembling.

After their coach ran his hand over his head, smoothing his hair, he began to speak.

“You guys played very well today." He began.

"Please, don’t beat yourselves up over this one, it was _Aoba_ _Johsai_ , we played really good for going against a powerhouse school like that. I heard other schools and coaches talk really well of you guys, everyone is impressed.” 

Kageyama felt his hands curl into fists.

It doesn’t matter _who_ it was, we still _lost_.

“Granted, we weren’t at our best today, everyone had something they had to overcome or deal with.” The coach continued.

Kageyama bit his lip when their coach's gaze dragged over him. God, Kageyama could feel his chest ache. He was fully responsible for today’s game.

“-But we did good, and this only means that we have room to improve, room to harness new skills and develop.” He finished.

 _Skills_.

Maybe if he knew how to handle that damn serving soul skill they could’ve _won_ this game.

Maybe if he knew who his _soulmate_ was he could understand how to use it.

Maybe if he knew his soulmate, he could _help_ his team.

 

 

After changing, Kageyama disappeared from his team and hid in the bathroom. He stared in the mirror for a while, displeased with himself.

“You can’t even do this on your own." He began to say, chastising himself. "You need _someone_ _else’s_ skill in order to help your own team. How pathetic.” He told his reflection.

After violently washing his face, he made his way out of the washroom, guilt still hanging onto every fiber of his being.

He walked out of the washroom into the large main hall that led to the lobby. Kageyama let his eyes trace up the high walls, the pillars, the expensive flooring and artwork that represented the school.

Not just the team, but even the damn building proved itself to be of 'royalty.'

Kageyama was so glad he didn't apply here. They called Shiritorizawa bad, but these guys were the by far the most pretentious school he'd seen so far.

When he entered the main lobby, he was greeted by the school's recreational room that was attached to the main area.

There were large windows that reached from the ceiling to the floor, they filtered the sun's rays that spilled over the glossy floors beautifully.

Along with that lighting, a chandelier 'casually' hung above the comfortable seating and table arrangements that scattered around the area.

In jealousy and perhaps annoyance, Kageyama began murmuring insults about the school and it's decor until a familiar electrical hum caught his attention.

He followed the noise deeper into the lobby, a hunch of his making him curious.

In the corner of the large recreational area; where most the seating and tables were, was a drink vending machine, it's glow reflecting in Kageyama's eyes.

 _Oh_ _man_.

Yes, Kageyama did feel guilty, but he also couldn’t deny what goodness waited for him in the machine.

Excitedly, he made his way over to it, his mouth watering when his eyes fell onto the snack machine next to it.

While fishing coins out of his pocket he noticed outside the window that his team was packing the bus already, getting ready to depart.

He hurried placing the coins in and mentally chastised himself for being so indecisive. Which flavour? Chocolate milk? Apple Juice? OH MY A STRAWBERRY MILK.

In the end he picked the milk tea drink. Filled with content about his decision, he pushed the numbers in carefully.

He grabbed the can and quickly turned to head out, worried his bus would leave without him.

After his turn though, he screamed in shock from slamming into another body.

“Now, now Tobio-Chan, you don’t have to be screaming at your favourite senpai do you?”

When Kageyama looked up, his eyes met the condescending ones of Oikawa Tooru. In fright and nervousness he backed up, but pain immediately shot up his spine from having slammed himself into the vending machine, his back aching.

“You-You’re not my senpai anymore, and you definitely would not be my _favourite_ if you were.” Kageyama shot back, his anger rising over his shock.

“Doubt it.” Oikawa whispered back, his mouth tilting into a small smirk.

The older male stepped back, allowing him to have space and Kageyama let out a breath he hadn't realize he'd been holding.

_Maybe Oikawa knows._

Kageyama could practically hear Ennoshita’s voice in his mind but his anger only grew. How the hell was he supposed to ask this- this _asshole_ for help?

Pissed off, Kageyama took a step away from the Aoba Johsai captain, but the guilt that was diluted by his rage suddenly came back full force and he groaned outwardly, running his hands through his bangs.

Oikawa’s brow quirked at that, and his expression softened ever so slightly at Tobio’s state of distress.

“What’s wrong with you Tobio?” He asked simply.

Kageyama sputtered in response first and pointed a finger at him harshly before responding.

“What? What’s wrong with you, you _jerk_!” Tobio yelled back.

Oikawa scoffed at that and made his way over to the vending machine himself.

“I’m done teasing you, I just want to know what’s up. You look… I don’t know, a bit distressed.” The brunette continued, placing coins within the machine and pressing the same buttons as Kageyama did.

“Maybe it’s the fact that you just obliterated my team and now are harassing me!”

“Harassing you?” Oikawa began. “I’m being polite here.” He said, putting a hand to his chest. “Here I am asking you what the problem may be and here you are yelling at me and calling me a jerk.”

“That’s because you are a jerk.”

“Okay, fine. But now I’m a jerk that’s willing to assist.” Oikawa said, plopping himself down onto a lobby chair and cracking open his can of milk tea.

_Now is your chance. Ask him!_

Though Kageyama’s mind was telling him to ask, he just couldn’t. He just couldn’t stand seeing this guy’s face all smug and narcissistic as he told him his problems.

_This isn’t about you._

“Aghhhhhh.”

Again, Oikawa quirked a brow and Kageyama flushed immediately, realizing that he made the noise out loud.

Kageyama wearily sat in the chair in front of Oikawa, opening his own can of milk tea.

“Can I ask you something?” he mumbled.

“Of course.” Oikawa responded. He casually drank from the can and studied Kageyama’s face.

“You know… You know the serve I did in the match today?” He began.

“I do.” Oikawa replied.  His voice came out a little harsh and Kageyama flinched. He had to be careful of his words, he didn’t want to turn Oikawa completely against him.

“I… I think it was a soul skill, and I- I.” Kageyama rushed the words out but Oikawa silenced him before he could go on.

“Tobio... You and I are not soulmates. Iwa-Chan and I already-“

“That’s not what I was going to say you dumbass!” Kageyama yelled. He could feel his face and neck heat up violently.

Oikawa’s eyes widened at the reaction and he flushed a little himself before carrying on.

“Okay. Then what about it?”

“I was wondering if maybe.” He began, rubbing the back of his neck. “Maybe you know anybody that has that skill?”

“You want me to help you find your soulmate?” Oikawa asked in disbelief.

“I… Yeah, I guess.”

Oikawa pulled his elbows onto his thighs and studied Kageyama carefully for a moment.

“It depends. Give me a good reason to.”

“What?” Kageyama asked shocked.

“Give me a reason. Why do you want to find your soulmate?” The brunette pressed.

Kageyama ran his hand through his hair. Should he tell him the truth? It seemed valuable enough. He wanted to take care of his team and live up to his expectations of a well rounded volleyball player.

“I want to learn how to use the skill.” He started.

Oikawa made a face at that, apparently that’s not what he wanted to hear.

“I just want to be a better player. I didn’t know what I was doing out there, and maybe if I was able to harness it I could be better at volleyball and help the team and stuff.” He quickly added.

“You’re telling me.” Oikawa began, pointing a finger from Kageyama to himself. “That you want to meet your _soulmate_ , only so _you_ can be a better volleyball player.”

“Well… Yeah.”

“We’re done.” Oikawa said quickly, pulling himself out of his chair and walking away.

“Wait, Oika-“

“No, Tobio. That’s kind of sad.” The brunette continued, walking away.

“It’s not like that.” Kageyama continued to call.

Oikawa spun around and crushed his finished can in his hand making the raven haired setter jump.

“Nope, I’ve heard enough and I’ve decided _not_ to help you. You _do_ realize that on the court there’s more than one player? The fact that you only want to meet your _soulmate_ to improve _yourself_ is hurtful to your partner _and_ your team.” Oikawa finished, taking long strides to the hall that led to his team’s club room.

Hurt and slightly conflicted Kageyama stopped in his tracks and watched the older setter take off.

He wanted to improve to _help_ his team not take them for granted.

What was he supposed to do now? Everything was his fault. He couldn’t help anyone, not even himself apparently.

“Tobio!”

Sugawara came around the corner, phone in hand and worried.

“There you are! I’ve been calling you, we’re leaving.” Suga continued.

“I’m sorry. I got held up.” Kageyama responded sadly.

Suga’s eyes followed the path of the recently departed setter and went back to Kageyama.

“Are you okay? Did Oikawa tell you something?” Suga asked.

“No… No, everything’s fine.” He responded. “Let’s just go.”

Wearily, Suga led Kageyama out of the school and to the bus that awaited.

 

 

Once on the bus, Kageyama made sure to sit near the back, away from the chattering of his team.

This day could not have gone any worse. Everything was completely out of his favor… If only Oikawa helped him… If only he knew who his damn soulmate was.

As the bus started it’s purr into life to depart the school, Kageyama’s eyes followed a group of boys walking home.

He had to squint in order to recognize them, but as the bus pulled closer he realized that it was the seniors of the Aoba Johsai team.

As the sun set the four boys walked together happily, Oikawa in the lead as he held Iwaizumi’s hand. They walked with a pep to their step, their heads thrown back in laughter as one told a joke. The pretty pastel sky shifted the sun into golden hour and the boys looked as if they were _glowing_.

Kageyama could feel his chest tighten along with his fists.

They looked so _happy_.

Kageyama wanted to be that happy.

He wanted to win matches and walk home like that.

He wanted to hold Yuuki’s hand as they went home and he wanted to smile like that.

It wasn’t fair.

It just wasn’t fair.


	8. Counter Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're not wrong, the kid is a student athlete meme."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -This chapter is long lol. Sorry or not sorry, who knows?  
> -In Oikawa's POV, yay!!  
> -I kind of wanted to split this chapter up, but I like giving longs ones too so I'm conflicted... I think I might make them a little shorter in the future, but that's only so you guys can have better chapters and a longer story in general (it's hard work, sry :/)

Oikawa felt rather content inside.

It was evening, and Iwaizumi had finally finished work to come and visit him. The day had been a usual weekend; he helped his dad clean up the apartment, wrote some new game plans for the next match, practiced his singing, and did assignments... It was an average day.

He looked outside his window and down onto the sidewalk where his boyfriend and also bestfriend stood, holding a bag of steamed pork buns his boss most likely let him have on the house.

Smiling, Oikawa ran to buzz him in.

“Iwa-Chan.” Oikawa sing songed.

Iwaizumi chuckled softly. “Are you going to let me in, or?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure.” Oikawa responded playfully. 

“Well, I guess I’ll just walk away with this batch of steaming pork buns right now then.”

So he was right.

“Fine, fine, you can come in.” Oikawa quickly said.

After letting him in he waltzed back into his living room area, then to the kitchen where he heard his father whistle; an old tune he used to sing to Oikawa when he was young.

“Dad, Iwa’s here.” Oikawa said.

His dad only nodded in understandment. 

Oikawa walked behind the man, interested in the reasoning to why there was a mess of dishes and ingredients that laid haphazardly on the counters.

“Dad, what are you doing?” Oikawa asked.

His father jumped in surprise and nearly knocked the pan off the stove in doing so.

“Jesus, Tooru, don’t sneak up on me like that!  I’m not getting any younger you know.” The man said.

Oikawa simply smiled at his father, internally laughing at the flour that stained the older man’s face and clothing, some of it on the bridge of his glasses.

“I was trying to make some damn fancy rice platter but instead I think I’ve just made a mess.”

Looking over his father’s shoulder he saw a mess of blackened rice and… chicken? After chuckling, he patted the man on his back and started placing dishes into the dish washer and sink.

“Maybe today wasn’t the day for that.” Oikawa grinned.

“Yeah, maybe… How about I make some rice omelets?" His father asked with a gleam.  "Would you and Hajime like that?”

He pushed up his glasses with his wrist, making sure not to get any flour or sauce from his hands onto the lenses.

“That’s good with me.” A third voice rang.

After closing the apartment door and kicking off his shoes, Iwaizumi made his way into the kitchen. “Boss let me have some extra buns today, there’s plenty for you too, sir.”

“For f- Hajime, we’ve known each other pretty much your entire life, I’ve been asking and allowing you to call me dad for the past six years?” Mr. Oikawa said.

“Sorry, Sir.”

Oikawa rolled his eyes at his boyfriend's humour.

“Oh my… Get out of here you two.” His dad laughed while taking a few buns out of the bag Iwaizumi tossed on the kitchen island.

Scattering, the two boys went to Oikawa’s room.

Iwaizumi instantly laid on the foot of the bed, his front profile facing the ceiling. Oikawa himself sat in his desk chair, the fake leather groaning as he stretched his legs out and leaned back.

“I miss the glow and the dark stars we plastered onto your ceiling at the old house.” His friend said.

Looking around, he himself tried to resemble the apartment to his old home. Honestly, even though there were times he deeply missed his old house, he thought of the apartment better.

 Most people would consider that to come from a nice and large home to an apartment was a downgrade, but he didn’t. This place felt more welcoming; the mass amount of windows, the light texture and colour palate, the nice neighbors and welcoming neighborhood, plus in convenience he could easily go anywhere he wanted in their small city by being so near.

Not only did all these factors help Oikawa feel better, but it made his father happier, and that’s all he could ask for.

“Why don’t we put some new ones up?” Iwaizumi asked.

“Iwa-Chan we’re going to university in less than a year.” 

“Okay? Did you want me to help you put stars up in your dorm as well?”

Oikawa paused at that and stared the other deep in the eyes. There was a serious exchange of faces from both sides.

Suddenly, both of them began laughing abruptly. Oikawa was glad that Iwaizumi understood him. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to grow up or anything, but space and the universe itself was Oikawa’s passion and personality; he wouldn’t want any of that stripped from him.

“What? Are we going to go get them?” He asked, still laughing slightly.

“Why not?”

Before he knew it, they were out of the apartment, him throwing on a tan and thick cable knit sweater and pair of black jeans to replace the worn Aoba Johsai t-shirt and starwars sweatpants he comfortable stayed in all day, tossing his dad the peace sign before running out of the apartment.

 

 

“They don’t have anymore of the glow and the dark stars.” Oikawa said pouting.

“Tooru, just ask if they have any in the back.”

Both boys stood in the children’s toy isle in a variety store they had managed to find.

“I don’t wanna. And they probably don’t have them anyways.” Oikawa whined.

“Tooru-“

“Let’s just make them!” Oikawa exclaimed excitedly.

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Iwaizumi laughed.

Oikawa paused for a moment and watched the way Iwaizumi’s eyes crinkled from the laughter. After all these years and he still couldn’t help but appreciate this guy. Oikawa had no idea what the other was thinking, had no clue what made Iwaizumi always care for him no matter _what_ , but Oikawa appreciated it fully with no complaints.

At a loss for words, he grabbed the older male’s hand and led him to the crafting section of the store.

Oikawa grabbed a pack of multicolored cardstock and tossed it into the basket Iwaizumi carried before scoping out the section for glow and the dark paint.

He finally saw a couple of jars on a high shelf and stood on the tips of his toes to reach the paint, but a sudden question from Iwaizumi threw him off balance and made him stumble as he tried to grab one of them.

“Have you told your dad about us?” Iwaizumi asked.

Oikawa threw a concerned glance his boyfriend’s way before attempting to grab the jar of paint again.

“What do you mean Iwa-Chan?”

“Like, have you told him about us being soulmates? Or… not.”

Oikawa felt his chest tighten and he took a deep breath before finally grabing the paint. He brought his arm down slowly and fiddled with the jar in his hands out of the anxiety that began to fill him.

“I… No, I haven’t told him I announced it online and stuff, but-  _Hajime_.” 

He put the paint in the basket to free his hands and brought them up to hold onto the collar of Iwaizumi’s jacket. At the drop of the ‘-chan’ Iwaizumi smiled softly and gazed down to the floor, perhaps a bit embarrassed by his questioning.

“We _have_ to be soulmates. There is no other explanation for what we have- this _bond_ between us. I _love_ you and I know that goes both ways when I say that.”

Iwaizumi put his hands over Oikawa’s but didn’t pull them away.

“Not all soulmates have to romantically be involved. Even if you meet them someday, you don’t have to marry them, _we_ can stay together if you’d like.” Iwaizumi continued.

“ _Hajime_. We’re soulmates, I _know_ we are. And, we _are_ going to stay together.”

“Tooru.”

Oikawa let his hands go and bit his lip.

He could feel his eyes burn.

 _Fuck_.

He hadn’t meant for himself to get so emotional. But… Iwaizumi was right. They only had one fucking skill in common out of all the traits both of them gained over the years.

It didn’t matter though, they really did love one another. Oikawa didn’t even want to meet his ‘ _actual’_ soulmate. Sure, maybe they could have some awesome friendship instead of being romantically involved like plenty of others in this world had with their soulmates, but he didn’t want anyone else but Iwaizumi. They were just too _good_ together.

“I think we might’ve rushed into this; calling one another soulmates when we both know that one trait isn’t enough to classify us as that.” Iwaizumi continued.

Oikawa bit his lip harder and tasted iron when he punctured the skin. What was this about? Did Iwa-Chan find his actual soulmate? Did he not want to be with him?

No. That couldn't be it, right? 

More anxiety flooded Oikawa's system. Curse his bad genetics.

“Did…” Oikawa began, internally cursing at himself for the way his voice rasped out. “Are you breaking up with me?”

“What!? No, of course not!"

Oikawa felt a dam of relief break and he thanked the universe for letting his worse thoughts come to be false.

"Tooru, I _want_ to be with you."

“Then why are you bringing this up? Why are you asking me all of this?” Oikawa cried.

A worker that walked by glanced into the isle but quickly dashed away when they heard the hint of an argument. Oikawa felt bad for them.

“I just… What if one day you met them and you don’t want to be with _me_. But also, we already announced that we’re soulmates, but what if that ruins the chance for you to actually meet them?”

Oikawa hadn’t seen Iwaizumi seem so down and desperate in a long time.

“There is no one else I want to be with. You are my _everything_ , Hajime. I’d put you infront of music _and_ volleyball.”

The older male chuckled at that.

Oikawa pulled the other against him into an embrace and he felt Iwaizumi nuzzle into the crook of his neck. There was a soft whine and Oikawa felt himself grow tender at that.

Iwa-Chan was hardly this affectionate, but he supposed it was because he was just worried about their situation.

“Come on, let’s go pay.”

 

 

Both boys sat at a table in the corner of Oikawa’s favourite coffee shop in town. It was night and outside the window their city glowed with activity. Granted, it wasn’t too loud at this part of town, but it was enough for it to feel lively; the soft honking of cars and bustling of people.

The recent discussion of their relationship had gotten Oikawa slightly sentimental. As they sat in silence, he couldn’t help but feel sensitive about everything. He still didn’t understand why people wasted their lives away trying to find their soulmates. Like Iwaizumi previously stated, not all of them married anyways.

Perhaps it was more the fact that Oikawa’s skills were gained slowly. He had probably half the amount of soul skills than most people did, and not to be rude to whoever his soulmate was but, they were kind of odd.

The most interesting skill in Oikawa’s opinion was the calligraphy. He knew that his normal print was nice, but he didn't expect his writing teacher to congratulate him on his beautiful Japanese strokes and English cursive his second year of high school.

Along with that, another interesting skill he found was that he could pick a lock with hair pins.

Yes, he did keep hair clips in his bag, but he _only_ had them because he didn’t like his hair in his face while studying… _Not_ for opening locks. As captain, it was Oikawa’s job to open the clubroom first thing in the morning (also for the fact that he was the only one that had keys) and he did so every day until a few weeks ago. He had forgotten his keys at home and for some stroke of luck, decided to try and use his hair pins to open the door like he’d seen in the movies. He really didn’t expect it to work, but without even comprehending what his hands were doing he opened the lock with ease.

Oikawa chuckled to himself and sipped from his coffee thoughtfully, the foam sticking to his upper lip.

The smile faltered though when he remembered the first soul skill he had ever gotten.

 It was his last year of middle school into high school, one of the hardest times in his life… That day, it was mostly his fault. He let the worse happen to her; it was his doing.

Oikawa shuddered to himself then took another sip of coffee, felt the liquid coat his throat then make his chest warm.

How could it have been fate; that woman hurting his father’s and his life?

Oikawa felt his heart twinge in guilt at that. It wasn’t fair though. His father should’ve just found someone else. She basically used them.

Again… Guilt ate at him.

It was sad. Unfortunately, a lot of people in this world _used_ their mates. For fame, smarts, and so on… This was the world they lived in; a world where the people you had to spend the rest of your life with chosen for you.

‘ _The universe doesn’t know shit.’_ Oikawa thought to himself.

“Iwa-Chan?”

“Yeah?”

The other male had just taken a sip from his own latte, the cream giving him a foam mustache as it had for himself a few moments before. Oikawa laughed and felt warm as Iwaizumi rubbed it off with the back of his hand.

“Did I tell you that Tobio-Chan talked to me yesterday?”

Iwaizumi raised his eyebrows at that.

“Tobio? No, you didn’t.”

“He talked to me about his soulmate.” Oikawa said.

Iwaizumi took a long sip from his coffee until the mug emptied.

“Who is it?”

“That’s the thing- he wants me to help him find them.” Oikawa responded.

He watched his boyfriend scratch his chin and then set the mug down, the white porcelain thudded softly, barely loud enough to be heard over the soft background noise of people talking, music, and coffee equipment in work.

“Okay? What did you say?”

Oikawa found himself grimacing slightly. Tobio had sounded so selfish; he just couldn’t find it in his heart to help him.

“I said no.”

“Oikawa, you can’t just stay petty your entire-“

“Hey!” Oikawa grumbled, a hint of a whine that creeping through his tone. “I _offered_ to help him, but instead he just called me a jerk and gave a really selfish reason for wanting to find them.”

Iwaizumi laughed at that and reached forwards to wipe some cream Oikawa didn't realise he had on his face off the side of his mouth. The boy opened his own mouth and Oikawa was expecting him to respond in an insult, but instead he sucked the foam off his thumb and for a split second Oikawa didn’t know whether to feel disgusted or turned on by that.

“First, you _are_ a jerk.” Iwaizumi started.

“Hey!-“

“Second, what was his reasoning?” he interrupted, cutting Oikawa’s whine off.

“First.” Oikawa said, mimicking what the other. “I’m not a jerk, you’re the jerk.”

Iwaizumi chuckled at that. He stretched himself out, quite possibly getting comfortable for the incoming rant Oikawa guessed.

"Second, like I said, he was really selfish."

Iwaizumi looked at Oikawa waiting for a detailed explanation.

“Okay, biggest thing; you saw those serves of his, they were _crazy_. Not as good as _mine_ of course, but crazy.”

“Okay.” Iwaizumi said. Oikawa grinned when he rolled his eyes in the process.

“Well, he said it was a soul skill and asked if I knew anyone else in the volleyball world that can serve like that.”

“There’s you.” Iwaizumi responded.

“Okay first- I’m not his soulmate, I wouldn’t allow it, that guy is too ‘ _I will be the best setter. Yes volleyball, volleyball much good!’”_

Iwaizumi laughed heartily at that.

“You’re not wrong, the kid is a student athlete meme.”

“Exactly! Plus, I’m pretty sure that’s the only skill we share. Like damn, I want some pin point accuracy setting skills.” Oikawa said.

“It would be nice if we had a genius setter.” Iwaizumi said, sighing dramatically.

“Iwa-Chan!”

Oikawa placed a hand to his chest, face entirely falsely offended.

“Anyways, I do happen to know a few people that are blessed enough to serve like me, so I asked him ‘ _give me a reason’_ and the guy responds with ‘ _I want to harness the skill to be a better player’_ yada yada yada."

Iwaizumi whistled low at that.

“Tobio’s pretty heavy duty when it comes to the sport.”

“I know! So I said _‘No Tobio, that’s kind of sad’_ and walked away coolly… I’m pretty sure my hair was fluttering in the wind and my jacket was swaying behind me like a cape, so that’s extra points.”

Iwaizumi leaned forwards onto the table and put his chin in his hands.

“I don’t know. I think you should help him.”

Oikawa was not expecting that. He was expecting Iwaizumi to chuckle and agree with him the entire story.

“What?”

“Well… I don’t know, I feel like there’s more to it.” He said.

Was there? It sure damn didn’t seem like it. Tobio has _always_ been selfish, for what reason did he want to meet his soulmate for other than to be better himself?

“Iwa-Chan you can’t be serious! I don’t even know if I can help him, what if his soulmate is a tennis player or something!?”

Oikawa felt incredulous. Why would he bother to help out Tobio? Even since the guy had come into his life he only ever hurt Oikawa or ruin _his_ chance of being better. He was too selfish. Oikawa deserved to have the ‘spotlight’ now, he worked so damn hard; it wasn’t fair for this ‘genius’ to come in and kick him out like his efforts didn’t matter.

“How long did you even talk to him for?” Iwaizumi replied.

“Psh, like ten- fifteen minutes.” Oikawa sputtered out. “He was being all weird and making noises, I couldn’t deal with it.”

“ _That_ seems kind of selfish on your part, Tooru.”

Oikawa felt so betrayed.

“What?” He cried.

A worker in the shop looked over at the two, giving a worried glance before smiling awkwardly. Oikawa cringed inwardly. He had been making a lot of workers worried today hadn’t he?

“I don’t know. I just feel like that’s a big deal. If you have the probability of knowing the poor dude’s soulmate, I really think you should at least help him out. Some people won’t even meet their soulmate. Who’s to say that poor little Bobby or whatever can’t find his soulmate from… I don’t know… Australia, but you just so happen to be the foreign exchange student to make it happen?”

Oikawa laughed softly at that.

“Australia? Really, Iwa-Chan?”

“You know what I mean.”

Oikawa did know what he meant.

Tobio wasn’t a terrible person. Obviously, the Karasuno team really loved him, so it’s only fair to give the guy the benefit of a doubt.

But still…

Oikawa wanted a better reason. He didn’t want anyone else to suffer from their ‘soulmate’ as his family had.

“You really think there’s more too it?” Oikawa found himself asking wearily.

“There always is.”


	9. Coffee, Beauty, and Falling apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -SOME OF THE OIKAGE YALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR  
> -Kageyama's trying, he really is  
> -Chapter is as long as the last one, lmao

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it too early to update? I literally uploaded like two days ago... whatever, I'm impulsive, though I do apologize now if I don't get another one up in a while- I'm going to be busy, mwahaha.

Kageyama sat nervously at the location Oikawa sent him.

He really didn't expect the message from the older setter on one of his social media accounts, didn’t expect it when he offered to talk about the soulmate situation, and definitely did not expect them to exchange numbers to meet up at some coffee shop in this city.

It was odd; being here.

Even though Aoba Johsai was in the Miyagi prefecture as Karasuno was, the location was more urbanised than what he was used to.

After practice, it seemed that the time it took to go back home was long for _everyone_. He knew that Hinata rode his bike home, knew Daichi and Suga lived a bus ride away, and knew Tsukkishima traveled a bit farther like himself.

He couldn't help but to wonder though, how he would travel to school if he accepted the invitation from  _Aoba Johsai._

It was definitely closer to his home, and there was so much here too.

Usually, if the team was hungry after practice they would go to Ukai’s out of convenience that he was their coach. But here… After school he could go anywhere.

Kageyama wondered where the Aoba team would go if _he_ were with them after practice.

Of course, there was was this coffee shop _..._  but there were so many other options too.

Looking out the window Kageyama analyzed the nearby buildings. He knew that down this road and a couple of turns would take you to Aoba Johsai. Perhaps this was a street they could easily come to for dinner?

He saw a ramen shop in the distance and there also seemed to be a mundane looking boba tea shop across from where he was.

In honesty, Kageyama would probably drag all of them to the cute little bakery on the corner of the street across from here. It seemed so cute, and he’d bet money that those little pastries being advertised outside the shop would taste so good with-

 “Tobio~.”

Kageyama jumped in surprise at his name being sung. He didn’t notice the brunette walk in as he daydreamed.

“Oikawa-San.” Kageyama said in reply, a little flush creeping over his cheeks when he realized he’d been off in thought thinking of how it would be if he went to school here.

Kageyama prayed that Oikawa wouldn’t see any hint of his slight embarrassment, but luckily there was none when the older male sat in the chair across from him.

“I hope your travel was good. I would’ve met you somewhere half way in between us but I couldn’t think of a location.”

Oikawa’s voice had true sincerity laced into it.

That shocked Kageyama, and if he were to be honest it also made him a little creeped out.

He had never in his lifetime witnessed Oikawa be nice to him- well perhaps other than the first time they met- but besides that, Oikawa had always been in some way _mean_ to him.

“It’s fine. I only had to take a short train ride here. It’s actually closer coming here than to go to school.”

“Really?” Oikawa asked. To Kageyama’s surprise again, he seemed truly sincere. “That’s right… You were invited to attend to Aoba Johsai.”

Kageyama studied the boy’s face, noticed the slightest smirk on the corner of his mouth.

“I actually recommended you to our coach, I didn’t think he’d actually listen to me and reach out though.”

There was a mixture of bewilderment, validation and regret that passed through Kageyama quickly before he managed a response.

“I… Didn’t know that.”

“Well, I thought you’d be valuable for the team. Granted, I wouldn’t let you take _my_ place, especially as captain and a third year, but it’d be easier to train you with help from Yahaba and Watari.”

At first, Kageyama felt his stomach drop. Immediately his thoughts went to Suga. Did he take _his_ place? Was his senpai merely _dealing_ with fact that he had taken his primary spot? He _was_ vice-captain.

“I have a feeling I wouldn’t be who I am today without Karasuno though.” He found himself saying.

It was true. Without that team… Without his _friends_ , he wouldn’t be who he was.

In honestly, if he followed into Aoba Johsai, perhaps he’d still be a tyrant king, and more so due to the fact that he’d have so much competition, the biggest participant in the race being Oikawa.

“I’m not so sure about that. You’ve seen our team in action, but you haven’t seen us as _us_. This may come off to be a little bias, but I think everyone on our team is pretty special in terms of individuality.”

Kageyama froze at that, a creeping sort of déjà vu crawling over his skin.

He had heard that before. He knew he’d heard Suga and Ennoshita say something along the same line multiple times.

It was interesting. Who would’ve known that other teams think in such similarity?

They stayed quiet for a while, both of them most likely off in thought. Kageyama was about to ask what the plan was before Oikawa interrupted the silence.

“Did you want to order something?”

Once again and to Kageyama's shock; Oikawa was sincere.

“Oh. Uh, sure.”

“What would you like? Also, don’t worry about paying, I got you covered.” Oikawa offered.

Kageyama felt odd.

Oikawa was being so _nice_. Had the brunette always've been like this?

When Oikawa shifted uncomfortably, Kageyama panicked, realizing he’d been staring at the boy for a while.

He begged to god he didn't have his usual scowl on. Ennoshita and Suga have been complaining to him about it, so he's been working on getting rid of it.

“I’m so sorry, I only recommended here because Iwa-Chan and I meet up here all the time. Do you even like _coffee_?” 

Kageyama internally cursed.

“Can I be honest Oikawa-San?” he started.

Oikawa nodded in response, a hint of worry on his expression.

Kageyama felt nervous, he's never even _had_ coffee before. He considered asking the brunette to simply ‘surprise him’ but that wouldn't really be honest on his part.

Would Oikawa make fun of him though? Would he think poorly of him for not ever having the brown and steaming liquid? He’d only ever went to a coffee shop with Suga-San and all he drank was a strawberry milk. What if he didn't even _like_ coffee?

_'Aw, screw it'_

The coffee shop smelled really great, so that would mean that the coffee itself would be good, right?

“Oikawa-San… I’ve never… I’ve never had coffee before.” Kageyama managed to say, slightly embarrassed.

The male only stared at him in response, his mouth opening just a tad in surprise.

 _‘I messed up. I messed up and now Oikawa-San hates me.’_ He thought to himself.

“You’ve never had coffee?”

Kageyama nodded his head no and his bangs swept across his forehead in the process.

“Like, not even in a frappuccino? Or like, coffee flavoured candies?”

Again, Kageyama shook his head no.

He felt like dying inside.

He should’ve just said yes, he should’ve just told him an espresso or latte thing or whatever Suga had ordered-

“Cool!”

Kageyama stopped his panicking and stared at Oikawa dumbfounded, relief and curiosity washing over him.

“I feel kind of lucky. Tobio-Chan will have his first ever coffee with _me_!” Oikawa grinned.

There were no words for the feeling that sparked from Kageyama’s chest and flourished all over his body, this buzz of warmth that spread through him like wild fire; all the way to the tips of his fingers and along the rims of his ears.

There was just something about the way the older boy smiled at him, all teeth and eyes slightly squinting that made him feel funny.

What was this?

“Umm… Tobio.”

“I, uh, yes, Oikawa-San?” He finally managed to get out.

“You haven’t said anything in a while.”

Kageyama flushed violently. He’d been staring again.

“Oh… I’m up for anything; please get me whatever you’d like. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.”

 

 

Oikawa-San really struck him odd.

It wasn’t that he was a bad person. For one, the iced mocha he got him was extremely delicious, and he highly appreciated it when he heard the brunette ask for extra whip cream on top.

-It was just that he seemed a bit _spontaneous_.

Granted, it wasn’t at the point of Hinata’s obnoxiousness, but it also wasn’t the kind of spontaneous that was extreme; like when Tanaka would take his shirt off.

Oikawa-San’s spontaneity was kind of _gorgeous_.

There was this glint in his eyes that would occur when he got to the point of the story, a quickening of his sentences that made the context more interesting to listen to, rapid movements of hands and arms he'd do for visual description; very pleasant and interesting to Kageyama.

Kageyama didn’t exactly think of _Oikawa-San_ as gorgeous, but it was just this little bit of personality he’d seen so far that really intrigued him.

“Tobio-Chan.” Oikawa said. It seemed he was trying to grab his attention.

_‘Fuck.’_

He did it again, he was staring.

“You’ve been kind of pausing and staring at me weird, am I boring you?" Oikawa said. He brought a hand up to the back of his neck.

"Oh god, we haven’t even gotten to talking about your situation, I’m so sorry.” He continued.

That was actually entirely true. Oikawa had literally been talking nonsense for a while.

It started about volleyball, some kind of setting tip he had read in the new issue of the volleyball section of some sports magazine, then eventually it led to something about one of his Kohai who ate something in the gym, bringing in a bunch of ants.

To be honest, Kageyama didn’t really follow the rest of what he was saying. He was just too busy _watching_ him.

“No, don’t worry about it. I’m sorry I was staring… Was it uncomfortable, _I_ should be sorry”

Oikawa chuckled at that.

“It’s fine.” He began, removing his hand from is neck and trying waving off any awkwardness. "You were just kind of _gazing_? I’m guessing you just started thinking about other stuff, it’s fine I do it all the time, I know I can ramble and be annoying from time to time, Iwa-Chan says it all the time and-“

“No." Kageyama interrupted.

"No." He repeated again, causing a look of confusion from eyes the same colour as the cofffed they drank.

"Why would you be _annoying_ , you’re _gorgeous_. When you get excited you go into this mode of speaking and it's absolutely _stunning_.”

Three seconds passed before mortification whacked him sideways.

_‘OH MY GOD.’_

Kageyama internally cringed at his own words. Why the hell did he say that? Immedietly, anxiety hit him like a truck full of bricks.

Kageyama felt like dying.

He was worried Oikawa was going to think of him as creepy, he got mad at himself because Suga _told_ him to work on his filter and _obviously_  he ignored that perfectly.

He wanted to die.

Oikawa stopped talking and for the first time in Kageyama’s entire existence, he saw Oikawa Tooru _blush_.

It started off small; the tiniest of a pinkish red that began from the tops of his cheeks, the colour spreading to his ears, neck, and nose.

What made Kageyama feel even _more_ upset at himself was that he couldn’t help but to notice how _good_ that looked on him.

Kageyama mentally slapped himself a thousand times.

Both of them were quiet from a loss of words.

The silence had almost become unbearable, enough to the point where Kageyama contemplated leaving right then and there, to tell him to reschedule or to just _leave_ before it got any worse.

He actually moved his legs to leave, there was an excuse that formed in his mind and he was just about to get up when Oikawa spoke.

“Thank you.”

Kageyama froze and looked at the brunette.

He was sitting still, eyes down into the coffee he had ordered and cheeks still the slightest pinkish red.

Oikawa cleared his voice before continuing.

“No one… No one ever compliments me about that. Most people actually make fun of my _actual_ personality.”

Kageyama felt so confused. This was _Oikawa Tooru_ , Oikawa Tooru didn't get _flustered_ , Oikawa Tooru gave heart attacks to the best teams, handed out crazy serves like nothing and could make anyone crumble under his  _gaze_.

But here he was; here was Oikawa Tooru flustered and not willing to make eye contact and it was just so. freaking… Nice? Interesting? _Cute_?

It was still awkard for a bit, both shifted uncomfortably before the brunette placed his messenger bag atop the table to rummage through it.

“Okay, so in your luck, I _do_ happen to know a few setters that serve like me.”

Kageyama felt his heart speed up. This was actually happening, he was going to find them.

“-But.” Oikawa said, a warning in his tone.

“The only reason I’m here is because Iwaizumi told me to consider the fact that there may be more to this other than just your pure selfishness.”

All the awkwardness was immediately stripped from the atmosphere as soon as Oikawa finished his sentence.

The racing of Kageyama’s heart paused to only be caught in his throat.

 _‘Selfishness_?’

Most likely understanding the confusion on his face, Oikawa continued.

“When you told me that you wanted to find your soulmate, you said it was because _you_ wanted to harness it, because _you_ wanted to become better.”

‘ _Oh.’_

Again, Kageyama got upset with himself. If only he could just _speak_ properly. He had never been good at expressing himself correctly, it’s no wonder this seemed so selfish. In reality, it probably _was_ , but there was also good reason.

“Oikawa-San.” Kageyama started. He took a deep breath, thinking about all the tips he had ever gotten from Suga and Ennoshita for expressing and conversing well.

“I only said I wanted to get better because I wanted to aid my team. I _know_ that there’s more than one person on the court- it took me way too long to realize that, but luckily with the help of my _friends_ I’ve realized that. And…” Kageyama trailed off.

He knew he had to be deep now. If he had to convince Oikawa, he had to be _honest_ , he had to explain how he _felt_.

“A few months ago I met this girl.”

Kageyama slightly panicked. He didn’t really know where to take this now, he was giving context but was this valuable?

“And I loved her. I _really_ did…. But she wasn’t my soulmate, and I had to let her go with who she _wanted_ to be with, which was sadly… Not me.”

He concluded that this was a good way to take it. It was true that he probably seemed disinterested in his soulmate, but it was purely because he valued _their_ wants. _He_ wanted to stay with Yuuki, maybe his soulmate wanted to stay with whoever they were with.

“If I seemed selfish, if I seemed disinterested in my soulmate, it’s not true. For years I’ve been thinking about that person, have been wanting them in my life... But then I fell in love.”

An odd feeling bursted through Kageyama’s chest and he found himself having to pause.

“I… I don’t want- I didn’t want to break up with her, but I respected her decision and let her go… If, if they- if she wants to be with him, then that’s fine. I won’t force my soulmate to be with me because if it were _me_ , I’d want to stay with who I _love_ , not with who ‘fate’ said I _had_ to love.”

Kageyama had been in a lot of emotional situations. He had held Ennoshita while the ebony haired male cried, had felt his own heart tug when one of the members complimented him, had collapsed to his knees at losses that were partly his doing… But this… He had never felt his hands tremble so hard, felt his lower lip quiver and have his vision go blurry.

Perhaps it was the fact that he had been repressing all of his emotion. He didn’t even cry the night Yuuki left him.

There was a warm streak Kageyama felt drip down his cheek. He wanted to wipe it away but his arms felt too weak to pull up.

He hadn’t felt this way in a long time.

He opened his mouth to apologize, for he was sure that he probably looked extremely displeasing at the moment, but a sob rang out of his mouth instead.

Kageyama panicked when the cry jerked his body. When he was _actually_ going to apologize the words were suddenly muffled by a firm and steady body.

“Shh. It’s okay, Tobio.”

_‘When was the last time he heard that?’_

There was a feeling of warm arms wrapping around his upper half. 

_'When did Oikawa get up?'_

Kageyama had no idea what was happening, his mind felt muddled and messy and he wanted to just _stop_ , but in the end he just felt himself let _go_.

After all these damn months all the pent up emotions he had held in just tumbled out.

Perhaps it was the hurt of seeing Yuuki and her soulmate around town, maybe the stress of his team depending on how he conducted them, or even just home and school life; the difficulty of balancing everything.

He honestly didn’t know, but he just let it _out_.

The tears came and came and he hardly noticed it when Oikawa put a five on the table, the boy dragging him out of the coffee house, his arm firmly wrapped around him as he led them somewhere away from the noise of the streets; the vendors yelling, the cars moving.

It sort of felt slow motion. 

Each footstep felt heavy and he tried his best to bury his face into the chest of the body next to him.

There was something that gripped tight in Kageyama's throat, as if he were underwater; everything blurry, his ears unable to pick up true sounds and body unable to just _breathe_.

Oikawa was leading them away and Kageyama didn’t care where.

He couldn't focus- couldn't function, not with these invisible hands that beat against his mind and snaked up his body to press into his throat.

He just wanted to be _gone_.


	10. Planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I was gone for a bit. I got busy, but hopefully I'll be writing again

Oikawa gazed down onto the boy who slept in his bed.

When the crying escalated, once he noticed the choked sobs and uneven breaths, he knew Kageyama was having an anxiety attack.

The boy shifted a little, turned so he was deeper under the covers.

Luckily, after Oikawa dragged him into his apartment; things smoothed out a little.

He had cried a lot. Oikawa doubted he knew what was going on, but once Oikawa laid him onto the bed and threw the blankets over him, he cried until he passed out.

‘ _What the hell happened?’_ He wondered.

When Oikawa initially arrived to the coffee shop, he expected himself to more stern. He expected to at least get angry at the boy once since he was such a dork, but… It was just so _easy_ to talk to him.

Conversation flowed so well that he forgot that Tobio was even Tobio. Plus, he complimented him, and not just on anything; he complimented the way he _geeked_ _out_.

Oikawa’s cheeks flushed ever so slightly from the memory. He raked a hand through his hair, pushed his bangs out of his eyes.

He didn’t expect that little outburst from Tobio, especially the whole story with that girl. If Oikawa had to be honest with himself it honestly made him _respect_ the guy.

Oikawa chuckled slightly to himself. Who would’ve thought that his annoying little ‘protégé’ had his own relationship problems?

A sudden ping rang from his phone and Oikawa flinched. He looked over and hoped it didn’t wake the boy. Luckily, Tobio didn’t move a muscle.

He made his way out of the room, and gently closed the door behind him.

 

 ** From: Iwa-Chan( ** ** ◕ ** ** ω ** ** ◕✿ ** ** ) **

_Hey, just finished work._

_Did you want me to come by? Don’t have any steamed buns tho, lol_

 

 ** To:  ** ** Iwa-Chan( ** ** ◕ ** ** ω ** ** ◕✿ ** ** ) **

_I wouldn’t mind…_

_But I have unexpected company -_-_

 

 ** From:  ** ** Iwa-Chan( ** ** ◕ ** ** ω ** ** ◕✿ ** ** ) **

_???_

 

 ** To:  ** ** Iwa-Chan( ** ** ◕ ** ** ω ** ** ◕✿ ** ** ) **

_I met up with Tobio like you told me to_

_He’s passed out in my bed now_

_He had like a panic attack and knocked himself out by crying too much_

** From: ** ** Iwa-Chan( ** ** ◕ ** ** ω ** ** ◕✿ ** ** ) **

_Well first_

_Congrats on not being petty… But poor kid_

_U want me to come over?_

 

Oikawa felt himself smirk at his boyfriend’s texts. He could act like a grump all he wanted, but Oikawa knew he cared.

 

 ** To:  ** ** Iwa-Chan( ** ** ◕ ** ** ω ** ** ◕✿ ** ** ) **

_Fuck u, I’m not petty._

_But nah, it’s fine_

_I’ll deal with Tobio._

_I don’t think he wants to see anyone while he’s like this_

 

 ** To:  ** ** Iwa-Chan( ** ** ◕ ** ** ω ** ** ◕✿ ** ** ) **

_Alright babe, I’ll text you later_

_And don’t be too mean to Kageyama-San_

 

Oikawa huffed at that. Him mean to Tobio? _Tobio_ was usually the one that got all bent out of shape, not him.

Oikawa plugged his phone into a charger in the living room. When the time came onto the screen he panicked a bit. It was getting late and he knew that the raven haired setter sleeping away in his room had to get home soon. How long has he been in town anyway?

The brunette gnawed on his bottom lip as he made his way over to the fridge. Tobio had to be hungry right? His own father was going to come home soon and it was his turn to make dinner tonight too.

Oikawa scanned the fridge. There were a few potatoes and carrots in the bottom drawer along with a single avocado and tomato. They had eggs, plenty of sauces, cheese, some left over takeout. But what could he do with this?

He opened the pantry and pulled out a few items; tofu, curry box sauce mix, hot sauce, mapo tofu sauce mix, peanut butter, a can of beans.

Oikawa concluded that he needed to grocery shop for actual meals.

He was contemplating ideas while holding a jar of peanut butter in one hand and a potato in the other when he heard a tired voice behind him.

“Oikawa-Senpai?”

A soft and gruff voice rang out through the apartment and Oikawa froze from the sound.

_‘What the fuck.’_

When Oikawa turned around the two things that he immediately noticed was one: ‘ _Senpai_?’ and two: How could anyone’s hair get so messy so quickly?

Kageyama stood in the hall entrance into the living and kitchen area, Oikawa’s blanket wrapped tightly around him.

“Tobio-Chan? Are you okay, was I too loud in here?”

Oikawa couldn’t help but to feel for the boy, especially when he looked so _cute_. He’d never seen Tobio so… _domestic_.

 He was usually all high held; his voice deep and his attitude sharp. Now though, even though his voice was deep from sleep, it was _soft_. Plus, wrapped up like that and his eyes all puffy from crying; he looked kind of _delicate_.

“No, I- *yawn*No…”

Oikawa cocked his head to the side in confusion. He guessed that Tobio cried for good reason, but he still couldn’t get over the fact of how sad he looked.

“Oikawa-Senpai… I, um… I’m sorry for intruding like this.”

“Tobio, you don’t have to apologize.”

He watched as Tobio walked over to him, sleep seemed to still grasp him since he stumbled a bit.

Without warning though, the boy bowed and screamed violently.

“THANK YOU!”

Oikawa jumped backwards in surprise, his back smacked into the cabinet doors and caused them to knock loudly.

Tobio bowed deeply, the force caused his bangs to fall and hide his face.

Oikawa stared down at him, his eyes darting to the blanket still wrapped around the bowing boy’s shoulders.

When Tobio stood he seemed to have noticed the objects in Oikawa’s hands.

“Oikawa-San, what’re you doing?”

Oikawa chuckled. It seemed sleep and sadness was leaving him slowly at the drop of ‘senpai’.

“I was going to cook a meal, but sadly I have no clue what to make.”

Tobio looked around the kitchen, his eyes scanning over the ingredients displayed haphazardly around the area.

“You could make curry.” Tobio said a tad shy.

He felt himself raise a brow at that.

“Curry? I don’t think I’ve had curry in a long time.” Oikawa said thoughtfully.

“It’s not too hard to make.” Tobio said, taking a small step forward. “I’ve seen my mom make it plenty of times.”

Oikawa looked at the boy, then to the food, and then suddenly a smile crept onto his face.

“It’s settled then!”

Tobio’s brows furrowed in confusion, but Oikawa kept his smile strong.

“As repayment for letting you come into my home, you can make food!”

The drop of Tobio's mouth only made him smile wider.

Iwa-Chan couldn’t get mad at him for this, right? It was only fair.

 

“You’re such a jerk, shittykawa.” Iwaizumi laughed.

Oikawa huffed out dramatically as he re-made his bed. During the process of tiding up his room, he had gotten a call from Iwaizumi.

“What? He sleeps in my bed, he makes me food. It’s simple.”

“Wasn’t he crying a few hours ago? Oh- by the way, did you ever figure out why that was?” Iwaizumi asked.

Oikawa heaved the comforter up and tucked the sides in carefully. He held the phone in between his head and shoulder, trying not to let it fall as he worked.

“No, but I hope to try and get something out of him at dinner. I know I shouldn’t pry, but I’m quite interested now. Plus, they guy was probably just stressed out, I don't think he talks about his feelings too often, so I'm not surprised that it all came out like that.”

As Oikawa went to grab his pillows he tripped on a textbook he had semi shoved under his bed, a soft cry left his mouth when he stumbled.

“Dinner?” Iwaizumi asked. Oikawa could hear a slight scoff attached to the end of it, causing him to smile even though his foot ached from hacing kicked his book.

“Is that jealousy I hear? Awe, I knew you actually loved me~.” Oikawa sing songed.

“Oh my… Shut up you ass, you know I love you.” The other grumbled. Oikawa smiled deeper since he could basically see the grumpy male blush through the phone.

“What was that?” he asked, honey like sweetness dripping down the question.

He couldn’t help but tease, this was just too good.

“You _heard_ me!” Iwaizumi cried. “Just go! Eat whatever food Tobio made you. I hope he poisoned it.”

Oikawa chuckled as he fluffed his pillows; the finishing touch.

“Fine, fine. Dad’s probably going to be home soon too.”

“Bye, dork.”

“Bye~.”

Oikawa smiled to himself as he made his way out of the room, a small pep to his step. He stopped abruptly though when he hit the end of the hall. It smelled _great_.

Tobio seemed to have noticed his presence, and he turned around.

“I, um… I made the curry. I found some pork in your fridge, I hope you don’t mind that I used it.”

”Not at all.”

Oikawa walked slowly over to the kitchen. The spice of the food hit his nose wonderfully and he looked down into the pot of goodness, his mouth watering from not having the chance to eat since his granola bar breakfast.

Kageyama merely nodded, his head held a little low. Oikawa suspected he was most likely shy, this wasn’t his home after all, plus he had just gone through an experience that was most likely traumatizing.

Oikawa was about to ask if he wanted to stay for dinner, but his phone vibrated in his pocket so he pulled it out instead.

****

** From Papa Oiks: **

_I have the night shift again. Coming home late again, sorry._

 

Oikawa sighed and typed out a quick response before he put his phone back in his pocket. It sucked when his dad worked late. With an apartment as nice as this and the needs for two men like them, money was sadly something they constantly needed.

“Tobio?”

“Yes?”

 “Would you like to stay for dinner? I think after all this work it’d be nice for you to enjoy your own meal.”

Tobio gazed at Oikawa.

There was something that sparked a little feeling in his chest when Tobio looked at him like this. Good or bad he didn’t know, but he felt good about it now after Tobio complemented him earlier.

But still… what was this?

Was this appreciation on Tobio’s face? Was this curiosity? Was this what Tobio’s intrigued face looked like?

“Tobio.” Oikawa asked, a slight laugh edging out of the name.

“Oh- I- I’m so sorry. Yes. Yes I would, thank you.”

 

 

After the two boys finished eating Kageyama sat silently at the kitchen island while he waited for Oikawa to come back from his room.

He still couldn’t believe he was in _Oikawa’s_ _home_.

First and foremost, Kageyama was so _glad_ that Oikawa wasn’t being his usual dick self. Maybe he just felt bad for him, maybe it was the compliment he gave out by accident earlier, but the older male was being nice.

Kageyama could just imagine all the different ways that situation could’ve turned. Oikawa could have thought he was weird, could’ve left, could’ve laughed at him… But he didn’t. He was kind and gave him a _hug_ , he had taken him home and even though, yes, kageyama did make the meal, he let him stay for dinner.

It was almost surreal, seeing this side of him.

Perhaps Oikawa had a motive? He seemed to be the type to use people or get a gain… Kageyama shook his head. This seemed too unlikely, especially with the brunette getting mad at him for being selfish in the first place.

What was it then? Why was he being so nice?

Was it really Iwaizumi-San’s doing? Or perhaps… Perhaps Oikawa _wanted_ to be nice to him.

If Kageyama had to be honest with himself, things were going pretty good. Granted, he still sucked at speaking and would fumble over his words quite often but, Oikawa understood where he was coming from and responded well.

All Kageyama knew was that this was _nice_. It felt _comfortable_.

 “Tobio~”

The older setter made his way back into the kitchen, a few items in his hands.

Kageyama eyed everything as he set them on the island table top. There were index cards, a few pictures, a map, and a moleskin notebook.

“Oikawa-San, what is all of this for?”

The brunette spread everything infront of them and then smiled brightly.

“We’re planning the search for your soulmate Tobio-Chan.”

Kageyama gently chuckled to himself. Oikawa really was an odd one.

“Okay, so I know three guys who have around the same serving skill as me.”

Kageyama nodded in response and then Oikawa began writing on the index cards.

“There’s Jimmy, Ven, and Kazuto.” He began. "We can arrange dates for us to visit later."

That raised a brow from Kageyama.

“Us?”

Oikawa scoffed slightly at that and turned from his writing to stare him in the eyes.

“You want my help, yeah?”

Kageyama stayed quiet. Though he really appreciated the help from Oikawa, it still felt like the older male thought of him as below him still.

He hated the fact that Oikawa probably thought of him as a kid.

In the end Kageyama only nodded. It’s not like he could randomly meet these people anyways. Oikawa was the connection between him and his soulmate, sadly. There was not much he could do.

“Okay, well how about this.”

Oikawa laid the index cards with names out and then put the map to the side.

Under an index card labeled ‘Jimmy’ with red marker, he put a picture of a ramen shop under it and then circled an area on the map with it in red marker as well.

After that, he dragged over a picture of a male with dirty blonde hair, light blue eyes, a small slightly pointed nose, and thin lips. Oikawa placed the picture under the index card labeled ‘Ven’ in green and then proceeded to circle a location a little farther away from this town with a green marker. 

Lastly, Oikawa placed an add for a theater performance under the index card labeled ‘Kazuto’ in blue. Kageyama felt his mouth open slightly in surprise when Oikawa circled Tokyo on the map in blue.

“Right. These are the guys.”

Kageyama swallowed and then rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit intimidated by the major planning.

“Oikawa-San, how long did it take you to figure all this out?”

“Umm… I thought up most of the planning for travel and scenarios while showering. After I got out I wrote them in this notebook.” Oikawa lifted the moleskin notebook, the tapped Kageyama ontop of the head with it, earning a scowl. “I looked up locations and printed stuff last night.”

For a second Kageyama wondered if Oikawa was like this with everything. Was this why his team’s strategies worked out so well? He seemed so _organized_ , so _prepared_ and _sure_ of his goals.

“So how does next weekend sound to you?” Oikawa asked casually.

Kageyama blinked in surprise.

“Next weekend?”

Oikawa looked at him in disbelief.

“Tobio… What did you come here for? We need to meet our first target.” Oikawa exclaimed.

There was a pause. Oikawa stared Kageyama in the eyes seriously for about three seconds before Kageyama bursted out in laughter, a hand coming up to his mouth.

The side of Oikawa’s mouth perked up at that.

“What?!” He asked.

“This isn’t a _mission_ , Oikawa.”

“Um, technically it is.” He shot back, a smile still plastered to his face.

Kageyama simply rolled his eyes.

“Next weekend it is then?” Oikawa asked.

“Sure. Next weekend.”

Oikawa smiled at that, a little glint flashing through his eyes. He lifted up his arm and offered a hand to Tobio, as an agreement.

When Tobio took it he was shocked for a second.

he felt the warmth of callused hands that taught him how to set, felt the strong grip of them similar to when they had helped him keep steady earlier in the day, felt his own hand in return hold on perhaps a tad too long than it needed to be.

Today had been a rollercoaster of emotions. Kageyama felt tired as he laced his shoes back on, as he made his way out the door and to the train station.

It wasn’t until he was getting off the train and walking back to his home that it all _really_ hit him.

He was going to meet his _soulmate_ , and _Oikawa_ _Tooru_ was going to help him achieve that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading guys! Have a good day / night and hopefully I'll see you in the next one!!
> 
> Feel free to talk to me here: https://rykrae.tumblr.com/


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